By Melvin G. Calimag
Tuesday, April 01 2008 04:58 PM
URL: http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,62039628,00.htm

PHILIPPINES--The country late last week reversed its vote in the controversial Open Office XML (OOXML) ballot, now opting to approve the Microsoft document format as an ISO standard.

The Philippine government's decision to overturn its earlier vote was revealed Mar. 28, after the nine-member technical committee tasked to evaluate the country's position narrowly settled on a 5-to-4 decision in favor of the Microsoft-backed document format, Jose Carlos Reyes, project officer from the Bureau of Product Standards (BPS), told ZDNet Asia in a phone interview.

A division of the Department of Trade and Industry, the BPS cast the country's vote based on recommendations from the technical committee which comprised different local industry stakeholders.

The voting process was tight, with most representatives from the government sector electing to reject the document format. However, Philip Barilla of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT)--who also chairs the technical committee--tilted the balance of power to the "yes" side.

In the total tally, members who voted in favor for the OOXML to receive ISO certification were:

• Philip Barilla of the CICT;
• Peter Que of the Philippine Computer Society;
• Julie Sudario of the CICT's National Computer Center;
• George Kintanar of the CIO Forum; and
• Juan Chua of the Computer Manufacturers, Distributors and Dealers Association of the Philippines.

The other four who voted "no" were:

• Beng Coronel of the Philippine Software Industry Association ;
• Peter Banzon of the Advanced Science and Technology Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST);
• Prospero Naval from the computer science department of state-owned University of the Philippines; and
• Darwin Santos of the DOST's Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development.

According to Reyes, a number of institutions--both local and international--fiercely articulated their opposition to approve the OOXML as an ISO standard. Among those who wrote and submitted letters to express their objection were open source advocates such as Red Hat, Google and the ODF Alliance.

Reyes said the BPS also solicited the opinions of industry groups ITAP (Information Technology Association of the Philippines) and ITFP (Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines), but these organizations did not submit any position on the issue.

The ISO (International Organization for Standardization) conducted a reevaluation last month, allowing the Philippines--along with other ISO member countries--to modify or retain their respective positions. Microsoft failed in September last year to garner enough votes through a "fast track process".

Impact of vote unclear
It is unknown yet how the Philippines' change of vote will affect the OOXML's fate as an ISO standard.

The international standards body is expected to deliberate on the outcome of the re-evaluation process "within the week or next week", according to Reyes, who made the Philippine vote in behalf of the BPS's director Jesus Motumol.

When contacted, Microsoft's local subsidiary lauded the "transparent" process which the BPS adopted in resolving the issue.

"The thoughtful consideration and input which the various stakeholders, led by the BPS, offered throughout this process illustrates a deep commitment to making technical improvements to the Open XML specification for the benefit of customers, partners and governments around the world," Mae Rivera-Moreno, public relations and community affairs manager form Microsoft Philippines, said in an e-mail interview.

"Regardless of the final outcome, an unprecedented number of national bodies sought to have a voice in the ongoing evolution of the specification and they have greatly improved it as a result of their deep commitment and thoughtful feedback," Rivera-Moreno said.

Some reports indicated Microsoft might garner enough votes for the OOXML to be ISO-certified, though an official tally has yet to be revealed.

According to current tallies, several Asian countries voted against awarding the Microsoft document standard ISO approval, including India, Iran and Korea. Malaysia and Australia voted to abstain. Singapore voted to "approve with comments".

When contacted, the secretariat from Singapore's IT Standards Committee--jointly operated by Spring Singapore and Infocomm Development Authority--told ZDNet Asia that its comments "have been addressed satisfactorily", but noted that the ISO "does not make the information publicly available".

An online petition was initiated urging the ITSC to vote against Microsoft's bid to have the OOXML ISO-certified. To date, the petition has garnered 74 signatures.

Melvin G. Calimag is a freelance IT writer based in the Philippines.